Writing
Writing is a vital form of communication. At Ireby, we want our children to
be able to craft creative, thoughtful, organised texts for a range of audiences.
To us, it is important that children learn to present their work with clear, legible,
joined handwriting. We want our children to present writing that is
grammatically correct with spellings that are accurate.
Their work should make them proud.
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Of course, great writers need inspiration. Our inspiration comes from our
rich and diverse curriculum. As teachers, we want our children's writing to be
purposeful and so we look for opportunities to make our writing real
and exciting. This is why we don't make long-term writing plans. Instead we
ensure we cover a range of texts and audiences through our internal monitoring.
Often, we start by inspiring our children with a first-hand experience or through studying texts, films, pictures or questions that engage us. We conduct a deep analysis of carefully selected texts. and examine writers use of language, settings, characters, plot or information. We look at the structure and organisation of the texts and engage children in thoughtful discussion about the quality of the writing.
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As the process develops, children begin to research ideas and plan their own writing. They research vocabulary to give their writing depth. When they are ready, they begin the writing process. This requires resilience as good writers know that their first draft is rarely their best. Teacher feedback and modelling is at the heart of this process. We often use quality writing exemplars (see Pobble) and clear success criteria so children become engaged in discussions about the quality of their writing. We also use our visualiser in order to share writing and celebrate our successes.
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To support this process, our teachers are linked into a national network called Pobble. This network allows us to gauge our writing standards against those achieved nationally. It is an invaluable resource. We also access Power of Reading and Literacy Shed texts to support our teachers and inspire our writers. See below for more details.